iPhone: The Scratch Test

I've made a serious effort to keep my iPhone in my pocket without change or keys over the last month or so -- but dang, if the screen doesn't have a few light scratches already.

Early reviews of the iPhone emphasized how damage-resistant the screen is supposed to be. One crazed reviewer even filmed himself gouging away at the thing with a key and pitching it at the ground (this video is not for the gadget- or Mac-lover who is faint of heart).
So I'm happy to see that an iPod skins maker, a company called GelaSkins, announced yesterday that they have their first line of iPhone skins ready to go. I bought one of their arty covers last year to protect my video iPod and may be an early customer of their latest line of protective "skins."

They're not the only company jumping into the iPhone cover market, of course. A Utah-based company called NLU Products has made a transparent film cover called Bodyguardz that I might try. Otterbox, maker of a waterproof iPod case I wrote about a month or so ago, has an iPhone case on the way. I bought a cover from a company called Incase at the Apple store recently, though it doesn't protect the scratch-resistant (though not unscratchable) iPhone screen.

Apple says it doesn't have any recommendations for taking off iPhone scratches. The folks at the Apple store last night encouraged me to send the thing back to the mothership in Cupertino, Calif. -- though they had no idea whether the scuffs could be fixed.
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